By Bill Valentino
Strategically integrating Corporate Social Responsibility into the fabric of an organization can be very challenging. To accomplish this it is necessary that it be put into action through various points from inside an organization.

The most obvious point is at the top of an organization through the CEO and top managers. In a top down hierarchy, responsibility resides at the top of the pyramid but as organizations are becoming flatter, rather than being ruled by a narrow group at the top, organizational tasks and responsibilities are being relegated across the organization. It is under these conditions that the leadership role of Human Resources in CSR is emerging as a key tool in strategically managing and leveraging the company's most valuable assets – its employees. It is here that HR is finding solutions to the task of identifying in which ways they can provide employees with a sense of belonging, with a feeling of being part of something bigger than themselves and at the same time inspire feelings of loyalty, job satisfaction and success.

Many companies have learned the hard way by incurring huge political, social, and financial costs by violating shifting legal and cultural norms that affect hiring, firing, promotion, and training in such areas as diversity, human and labor rights, privacy, gender and child labor issues.

Situated at the hub of talent management, HR ensures that employees have the capabilities that will help their company compete in the present and in the future. They also assure that organizational practices and policies are in sync with the external demands of the market and legal norms. They assist workers in developing to their full potential, enhancing both the individual's strengths and the organization's competitiveness. This entails developing a work environment that embodies values and authenticity while encouraging collaboration, affiliation, responsibility and commitment.

HR plays a pivotal role because human capital has become a key intangible value driver that contributes substantially to a company's success and sustainability. By enforcing an organization's values and beliefs, and helping the corporate culture adapt to shifting environments, HR makes certain that an organization is always well positioned to meet the challenges it faces.

CSR has a vital "people" dimension and therefore impacts Human Resources management. Social issues focus on community and people issues. People in communities are also the same people who work for companies. Companies can't have a strong bottom line without having strong communities and societies around them. Here is where the attention of companies is shifting toward their links to social issues and trying to create a closer link between their own operations and CSR. Here is where concern for a company's "social footprint" along side its "ecological footprint" calls on Human Resources to take on a leadership role to contribute to CSR initiatives in their organizations by shifting the focus to long-term success and sustainability through relationships and engagement with stakeholders, notably with their own employees.

It makes perfect business sense for HR to play a key role in CSR because implemented properly, a forward-thinking CSR policy in a company can turn HR from just an administrative function into a key partner in the board room. Their engagement can give a company a clearer sense of direction with a human face. Simply recognizing that people are an organization's most important resource puts Human Resources very prominently in the MBA's toolkit for CSR.

Through the lens of CSR, Human Resource management practices promote personal and professional employee development, diversity at all levels and empowerment. With issues around diversity increasing, it reaches beyond race and gender to include a host of characteristics that make people feel different: age, sexual orientation, physical abilities, and educational levels.

The right to fair labor practices, competitive wages and benefits and a safe, discrimination-free, family-friendly work environment are CSR based human capital initiatives. These serve to motivate workers to perform better, take on new roles and responsibilities and stimulate them to acquire new skills and competencies in support of the organization.

Performance and productivity are influenced by employee's behavior – by their capabilities, skills levels, motivation and effort. It would be a mistake to say that money doesn't motivate a workforce. In this age where money talks, what one earns is one of the most tangible manifestations of one's success. But employee motivation and effort are only partially determined by compensations and rewards. There are other factors that create a sense of meaning at work where CSR plays a key role. Culture, a sense of belonging and the chance to grow through the job are what really matter. People are looking for job satisfaction. Today many young people don't just want to work in businesses that are successful. They want to feel engaged in something worthwhile and where they are able to make a difference both professionally but also in society.

HR leadership, as the eyes and ears of an organization, is key to CSR.

Human Resources has the opportunity, through well-managed CSR programs, policies and practices, to engage the organization and its stakeholders in the value of CSR by focusing on communications, employee relations, health, safety and community relations to provide their organizations with a competitive advantage.

HR leaders are increasingly assuming leadership roles to address two areas where CSR influences a company's competitive advantage most, company reputation and brand and human capital. This is at a time where the key concern of stakeholders are shifting more and more on what an organization is about and how things are done, moving these matters from formerly being peripheral concerns to centre-stage issues.

Examining the significance of people and purpose – the evolving role of HR management shows emerging relationships being created by teamwork and by partnering as companies strive to give stakeholders the value they want.

As companies position themselves to gain competitive advantage they are changing the nature of their relationships with stakeholders whereby partnerships are becoming more important inside and outside of the organization. Here emphasis is being placed on the significance of integrating the softer issues of people and values with the harder concerns of accountability and responsibility.

CSR driven internally by HR gives employees incentives not just to do their jobs, but also to think about their company the much wider context of society.

In this context HR practitioners need to continuously strive to create systems and policies that set the tone for an organizational culture that is open to and understands CSR.

Attracting, developing, motivating and retaining talent and competent people is one of the primary business reasons for CSR. For human resources the competition for talent will continue to be intense and very important. CSR provides solutions that will continue to be an important tool for them to meet these challenges.

CSR will only work if it is a genuine display of being part of the social fabric. The role of HR department is to foster CSR organically. It has the job of planting seeds within the organization that will develop. When an employee looks at the ads of their company and see the glossy brochures, but then thinks of his or her day-to-day job and there is disconnect, this is where HR needs to internalize CSR. When it is perceived as authentic only then does CSR have the ability to transform workers from self-centered, static individuals into people eager to grow and connect with other beings. It is a call to build a better world, to develop a sense of responsibility that reaches out beyond the workplaces to the communities in which employees work and companies do business.

One of the most visible CSR initiatives is community relations. Strong community relations can have a positive impact on a company's reputation and brand. Community programs that highlight the company doing good work link critical HR issues to CSR and the bottom line. For example, such issues are decreasing employee turnover, savings on cost per hire and attracting talented individuals.

HR can educate both management and employees about including CSR when setting business goals and objectives. This process can facilitate stakeholder dialogue, which can be used to understand the local culture internally and create a sense of ownership and pride in employees for the contributions that their company is making through their CSR initiatives and engagement.

HR also plays a critical role in leading and educating their firms regarding the importance of CSR while at the same time strategically implementing sound HR management practices that support the company's business goals. While acting as tool for supporting higher profits by a combination of two motives: self-interest and common interest, HR is at the same time a creative humane change agent for improving life. HR helps to implant these characteristics in the collective corporate consciousness and reflect them in the performance of individuals and companies overall. An idea that in a business context truly reflects the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

About the author:
Bill Valentino, continuously with Bayer in China since 1987, co-directs the Tsinghua-Bayer Public Health and HIV/AIDS Media Studies Program and is a Senior Guest Lecturer at the Center for International Communications at Tsinghua University. He is also currently the Chairman of the European Chamber's CSR Working Group and a long-standing member of the AmCham CSR Committee in Beijing.

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